Holiday How to: Make Classic Salt Dough Ornaments

April 30, 2016

This post was originally published on DIY Network’s blog Made + Remade in December 2013.

What’s not to love about DIY salt dough ornaments? They’re nearly impossible to mess up, a perfect snowy day activity for kids and adults alike, as infinitely customizable as your basic holiday cut-out cookies, and can make a great holiday gift for friends and family. Choose your favorite cookie cutter, and have at it.

You probably already have all of the fixings around your house. This basic mix creates 5-10 ornaments (depending on the size of your cut-out shapes), and can easily be scaled up or divided to create larger or smaller batches:

2 cups of flour (and a little extra to prevent sticking on your work surface)

1/2 cup of salt

3/4 cup of water

Assorted cookie cut-outs

Rolling pin

A pointed object, like an unfurled paperclip or pencil

Baking sheet

With the oven preheating to 325 degrees, mix all ingredients together to form a dough. Roll the dough out on a smooth surface until it is approximately 1/8″-1/4″ thick. Go wild with the cut-outs until you have as many ornaments as you want (and if you want a custom shape, have at it with a butter knife).

Transfer the cut-outs to a baking sheet, and before putting them in the oven, use a pointed tip to carve out a small hole for the ornament hook.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the whole ornament begins to brown. Depending on the thickness of your ornament, this may take a little longer. If you’re curious, I found this cutter at Williams-Sonoma, and bought it because I was impressed with its sheer size. Huge ornaments, huge cookies, can’t go wrong.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and seal the finished ornaments with acrylic craft paints or a clear coat to help preserve the pieces for years to come.

If you’re looking for different types of DIY ornaments to make this holiday season, consider these: